HTC's new Touch Diamond2 and Pro2 smartphones were announced during the Mobile World Congress held in Barcelona earlier this year. Those keen to buy one will be glad to know that the company has officially announced its availability in the Asia Pacific. The Touch Diamond2 will hit shelves in mid-May at S$1088, while the Touch Pro2 will roll out at the end of June retailing at S$1328, though Australian prices will differ from a direct conversion of these figures.

Aside from larger WVGA displays, both devices also come with improved versions of HTC's TouchFlo 3D software. Some of these interface upgrades include large context menus for better fingertip operation and improved SMS and email handling. Click here for a quick look at some of these new TouchFlo 3D features.

We had a quick hands-on with the HTC Touch Pro2 and were pretty impressed with the build quality. The tilt screen from the TyTN II has made a comeback after skipping a generation in the HTC Touch Pro. The five-row QWERTY keypad is well-spaced out and after typing a few lines, we already like it more than the Pro's.

One of the gripes we had with the TouchFlo 3D home screen was that it doesn't work in landscape mode — this is no longer the case with the Pro2, as a landscape-orientated home screen activates when you slide out the QWERTY keypad. Unfortunately, this hasn't been implemented for the Touch Diamond2 as well.

Look out in the coming weeks as we bring you more information on the Touch Pro2 and a full review of the Touch Diamond2.